An Apology 100 years too late
by kamikayze
Summary: ONESHOT. Thalia's been around for almost a hundred years now. What or who should she apologise for and to? Full summary inside.


A/N: Hello Fanfictioners! Long time no see! I've been much too lazy these holidays so I'm really sorry for not updating 'Two-Faced Key'. But because no one has actually bothered reviewing or making their presence known to me, I feel real sad :(. So therefore I will have to drop the story. I'm rather sorry. You can I suppose pick up this story from where I left off via commenting on it. I can give you some more details then. Anyways, onto this one-shot (?) I've made. It's a story about Thalia Grace.

Summary: It has been almost one hundred years since Thalia became a lieutenant of Artemis. Almost one hundred years since she has been resurrected from being a pine tree. Today was a rather special day; not for the aforementioned reasons, but for something else.

(break)

It had been another day of hunting with Artemis and her other huntresses. As evening came, Thalia and the huntresses began looking for a spot to camp at. Lady Artemis had to be gone to complete her duties to her silver chariot across the sky for the night, for it was supposed to be a full moon. Obviously she also left early to make sure her brother didn't land somewhere easy to spot. Even with the Mist, the mortals are sure to make a fuss.

Thalia gulped and attempted to make a landing. Despite being over a hundred years old, she still hadn't gotten over her fear of heights. The chariot landed safely however, and the Hunt began setting up camp. They had decided to camp at, well, a camping ground. They wouldn't attract suspicion that way as much.

(break)

The camp fire crackled as the Hunt sat around it. All the huntresses made themselves get up and select a portion of their food to be offered to Lady Artemis. As each huntress did so, the moon seemed to shine slightly brighter as if to display Lady Artemis's satisfaction. A couple of demigod huntresses also offered to their respective parents.

Thalia dumped her roast pheasant for Artemis and a bunch of grapes for her father. A quiet rumble rolled through the sky as she did so. She grinned, so her father was watching.

After they had eaten their fill, a couple of huntresses drifted off into their tents for their sleep while others remained by the camp fire, singing and talking to each other. Thalia stood up and decided to explore their surroundings.

She wandered off alone, armed with her spear, Aegis, and her bow and arrows. No one bothered to follow her since it was obvious she was well prepared if there was a surprise attack and it was a usual routine of hers.

After a while, Thalia emerged from the camping ground's hedge and onto a lone highway. It was empty and she could see a city's lights twinkling in the distance. A sign next to her indicated that she was about 3 kilometres away from the city.

(break)

Thalia sat down on the side of the road. Something had been bothering her all day. They captured that fat winged sow, but as she had thrown her spear for the final blow, the aim seemed…off. The pig was still obviously pork chops, but Thalia felt odd. Was something special today?

99 years since Thalia has been turned back into a girl. 97 or so years (Thalia had almost forgotten) since Percy Jackson had fulfilled that prophecy back then. Her memory was faded and muddled as time went on. Of course she had remembered all that, but what was it that was so hard to remember?

Thalia leaned back on the sign post and sighed. Then she drew in a sharp breath. Plastered to the post was a bunch of wilted flowers, a packet of CDs and a newspaper article of her mother. The rain and time had worn the article down, but it was still legible.

Singer and drinker dead in a car crash

The once famous singer, a drunkard and also a mother of the missing girl, Thalia Grace is now dead. Miss Grace was driving home after dark when she swerved and crashed. She died at the scene. There was a small funeral but no relatives, just friends came. The police are looking for Thalia Grace, her daughter, for inheritance issues.

The article was small, and would be unimportant in a large newspaper. Thalia reposted the article onto the sign and considered her relationship with her mother.

Her mother was a drunk and didn't enjoy her company at all, yet this was her parent she was talking about. It was fairly hard to sever all links to her family. And even though she didn't want to admit it, her mother bothered her a lot. Back before the Second Titans' War, she had encountered the goddess of ghosts Melinoe with Nico and Percy. Melinoe had shown her mother, angry with her.

She checked the date of the article. It was a day short of 100 years since it was published. A day less than 100 years since her mother's funeral. Thalia supposed that she was a bit too late for an apology, but nonetheless stood up and bowed almost sadly to it.

It was getting very late now. Another huntress had found Thalia and told her to come back to camp. Thalia signed and whispered,

"It's raining today."

The younger huntress stared at her lieutenant in confusion, but caught her gaze and nodded. She turned and ran back to camp to report that Thalia will be coming along.

Tears fell freely upon the packet of CDs. Thalia took one and placed a few items of hers so that her mother will understand her reply. Hopefully, she wouldn't remain as a ghost for any longer and would finally enter the Underworld. She then left the highway as she heard a car engine rumble in the distance.

(break)

Dawn approached. A cloud of dust road the highway, eventually giving way towards a black car. The car stopped abruptly in front of the sign post, and people clambered out. They were all dressed in black and held flowers in their hands.

"Mommy, why are we here?"

One little girl enquired her mother. She was only six, and this was her first time here. The mother explained very patiently to her.

"Once, there was a great friend of our family. She was a famous singer. It has been exactly 100 years since she died right here. We are here to pay our respects like our family has done ever since then."

The little girl nodded quietly. For a little girl, she was rather bright and understood the family's intentions. They laid the flowers and left. The girl neglected to mention that there was a silver arrow that only she saw, and a note that said one word:

"Sorry"

The little girl also failed to tell her mother about another girl, remarkably like the dead singer, who was standing amongst the trees. The girl had startling electric blue eyes, and spiky black hair. Her freckles spread across her nose and she wore a silver jacket. She knew that had to be Thalia Grace, but she would be laughed at for the ridiculousness of the notion by her mother. The girl looked no older than 16, Thalia was supposed to be over a hundred by now. The little girl frowned but waved at the girl watching. But she was gone.


End file.
